Archive for February, 2009

I’ve only heard about this from Diego‘s post, actually. I never knew there was such an event. As such, the man does indeed deserve praise for his works, which, while sometimes lacking in a few aspects, never fail to stir up some form of emotion within the viewer, be it of happiness, melancholy, marvel, or even anger. I’ve noticed that on the first viewing of any of his films, I become drawn to the story, rather than the emotions. The plot, rather than the characters. The general flow, rather than the details. As such, I do believe that, like a good wine, partaking in each film becomes more and more enjoyable the more we watch it. You begin to notice the small details, or, knowing the story, you begin to feel for the characters and their situations much more than you would in your first, second, third viewings. Perhaps this is one reason why I seem to favor these types of films over the mainstream films of today – mindless action and violence – that only serve to pump one’s adrenaline before quickly flatlining at the end, never to be viewed again. But I digress.

Though I’ve tried to secure legit copies of all 4 of his films – She and Her Cat, Voices of a Distant Star, The Place Promised in our Early Days, and 5 Centimeters per Second – I’ve had no luck with the third, and thus cannot fully simulate the Shinkai Film Fest. After a little bit of searching, I was able to acquire a copy of it, however, and will proceed to watch all of them thusly. For those who don’t have copies, Crunchyroll also seems to be streaming the movies for free for its members. Apparently, a dub for 5cm is also present, but I’m not really big on dubs, even if they were supervised by Shinkai himself. Perhaps I’ll just take a quick peek to see what it sounds like. Of course, for those who can watch it in better quality, I highly suggest you do. The breathtaking scenery he paints in his films is beyond incredible. And kudos to those who’ve got Blu-ray versions. I certainly can’t play them.

Here’s to Shinkai; may he produce more of his marvelous work, and may we continue to partake of it.

Lately I’ve been a little slow on the intake of anime and such. I blame Ar tonelico 2 (best RPG ever, by the way) and general apathy and laziness. Anyway, of the stuff I’ve watched, much of it has turned out to be above average at best. I think. Older fall-season shows won’t be included. Just because.

Maria†Holic
Yuri-trap stuff with SHAFT-style comedy. I like this a lot more than I did Pani Poni Dash or Negima?!, even if the humor is more or less similar. It’s got the absurdness of SZS without the zillion references, making the humor a lot more understandable and accessible to a Japanese-culture-impaired person like me.

Akikan!
Oh my god, just two episodes are enough to make my eyes bleed AND cause brain tumors. Surprising that such a show came out from the same studio that did something so awesome as Baccano!.

Asu no Yoichi
Pretty so-so. It’s watchable, and each of the sisters is clearly (though stereotypically) different from each other. A few moments of chuckles here and there, but nothing outstanding. And the, as Aroduc coins, thouspeak does get on the nerves.

Minami-ke Okaeri
Definitely feels more Minami-ke than Okawari. The animation style and character designs have been changed to something more like the original show (teardrop mouths!). I’m still as dense as ever and I never really laugh at their jokes. Almost never.

RideBack
It’s too early for me to objectively talk about the show, but it does seem to have some promise. I don’t like the slightly messy hairstyle of the main character though, but that’s just my OMG ANIME HAIR SHOULD BE STRAIGHT impulse.

White Album
To be honest, I haven’t gotten to watching more than a single episode of the show. It feels like I really need a lot of energy to watch the show, because it’s internally tiring in ways I have yet to comprehend. On the one episode I actually did watch, it definitely has a different aura and air to it compared to almost ever eroge-adaptation anime I’ve seen; can’t quite explain it, but that’s how it is for me. Apparently, because it’s styled in the 80’s anime sort of fashion, and I haven’t really experienced much, if any at all, of those kinds of shows.

Sora Kake Girl
It’s a very… refreshing show. Very energetic and never really a dull moment. Jun Fukuyama doesn’t even bother with changing his voice anymore so Leopard sounds like Lelouch, albeit insane. ALI PROJECT OP aside, the show is very pleasant overall, but I can’t quite tell what direction the show’s trying to take. There’s action, and there’s comedy, and there’s some deeper stuff going on in the background, but looking at the show as a whole, it’s got a very positive, happy-go-lucky sort of flow that clashes with some other aspects.

Chrome-shelled Regios
I read a single volume of the translated manga and well, what I remember completely conflicts with what I’m seeing. The names, character designs, all seem familiar, but in a different setting. Anyway, the show’s not bad at all; lots of action, time set aside for character building and plot too. I’ll probably go with it all the way to the end to fulfill my need for a bit of action in my anime intake.

Kurokami
I thought the show was pretty good in its own right… before I read the manga. The liberties Sunrise has taken with the source material are clear as day, and frankly, it really nags at me. Sort of like how Konata referred to drama CD’s and anime having different voice actors. You know that they’re different media, but they still feel kind of different. I’ve yet to go much further than the second episode, but Kurokami is still quite a competent show.

Shoujo wo Miageru Sora no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai aka: Munto TV
First, what the blazes is Kyoto Animation doing with such a horribly long name. And why are they resurrecting a really old 2-part OVA by turning it into a series? I honestly have no clue. They seem to be paying less attention to the show compared to something like CLANNAD, however, as evident by the lower quality animation of Munto TV (in comparison to aforementioned show). It’s pretty bad though, from what I’ve seen – half an episode. Not really worth watching, except maybe just to see what KyoAni can do with its own original material.

Kemono no Souja Erin
Feels like a kids-y, Disney-y show. Almost all the kanji show have furigana, the narrator speaks in a clear, slow tone, and generally uses comparatively simple words. On the show itself, I can’t quite enjoy it all that much. I’ve never really enjoyed things like this normally, but I really would like to expand my horizons, broaden my palate, that sort of thing.
I should probably finish the second half of the first episode.